NNPC Seeks Foreign Investments in Gas Development

Joseph Dawha, group managing director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation leads the drive for foreign investment in the gas sector in the country

THE Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, is leading the drive to attract massive global investments into the nation’s gas sub-sector as a way of ameliorating the effect of drop in crude oil prices on the Nigerian economy. At the Panel Session organised by the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria, PETAN, at the ongoing Offshore Technology Conference, OTC, in Houston, Texas, Joseph T. Dawha, group managing director of the NNPC, said with Nigeria’s immense gas potentials, the country “need not be and must not be a victim of price drop, instead we should position to benefit from it”.

Dawha, who was represented by David Ige, group executive director, Gas and Power, NNPC, said for the nation’s gas sub-sector to benefit from the drive, industry players must brace up for the challenges ahead. “The Nigerian gas sector has seen tremendous focus in the last few years. We have grown capacity at a pace of 18-20 percent with supply now at about two billion cubic feet of gas per day in the domestic market from a humble start of about 300 million cubic feet per day a few years ago,’’ he said.

Based on projected growth demand anchored on growing industrial requirements, the sub-sector may need to grow further to some six billion cubic feet of Gas per day, he said, adding that despite the annual investment of millions of dollars in the last four years in gas supply and infrastructure, there is need for significant addition to infrastructure and supply development.

“For example, we have built over 500km gas pipelines and we are building an additional 120km currently; but we need to build many more kilometers of pipelines to connect new markets and gas sources, Dawha said, adding: “We need investments in gas processing, micro-Liquified Natural Gas, Compressed Natural Gas as well as upstream Non-Associated Gas, NAG, development. Therein lie the compelling investment opportunities.’’

The theme of the session, “Natural Gas Development in Nigeria- A Compelling Investment Frontier in a Turbulent Oil Market”, was not only apt but in tandem with the aspiration and projection of the NNPC for the oil and gas industry. “It brings to our collective consciousness the potential in Nigerian domestic gas sector. We can turn the gloom inherent in low price into a breakthrough for gas based industrialization of Nigeria,’’ he said.

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